Basle break United hearts

Sir Alex Ferguson
12 April 2012

Manchester United have crashed out of the Champions League after a 2-1 defeat to Basle.

Sir Alex Ferguson's men never recovered from Marco Streller's ninth-minute goal.

Alexander Frei added another six minutes from time and though Phil Jones pulled one back it was too little, too late for United.

The visitors got off to the worst possible start when a penalty area collision between Nemanja Vidic and Chris Smalling offered Xherdan Shaqiri the opportunity to collect a loose ball before drilling a cross across the visitors' goal.

It was not an easy moment for David de Gea. But the young Spaniard might have chosen a better option than to lunge at the ball with his feet, succeeding only in turning it to Streller, whose first-time shot bounced in.

Wayne Rooney, who faces a UEFA disciplinary hearing in nearby Nyon on Thursday, wasted their best chance to equalise when he inexplicably failed to make proper contact with the ball after Nani's low cross.

But the second shattering moment of the half came in the final minute when Vidic and Streller chased down possession, got their legs tangled up and hit the deck. The Serbian immediately called for assistance and medical staff wasted no time stretchering him down the tunnel.

De Gea made a brilliant fingertip save to turn over Frei's goalbound free-kick, and the visitors so nearly benefited from an outrageous slice of good fortune when, in attempting to hack Nani's cross clear at the far post, Markus Steinhofer succeeded only in rattling the crossbar.

Frei added Basle's second eight minutes from time, although United did not go down without a fight.

Jones grabbed a lifeline near the end but the visitors were unable to conjure up a miracle second, leaving Basle to celebrate the greatest night in their history.

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